A/N: Let's see… I'm not exactly a HP fan, but I happen to like Snape very much, so I'll focus on him and my OC. You will also find Dumbledore, L. Malfoy and others. When I started this fic I had only read the first two books, so there aren't many references to what happens at Hogwarts in the books, hope you don't mind.

I'd like to thank Laurus and Drach, my faithful friends who helped me a lot with this. I'd like to dedicate this story to you two, girls!

Now, if you think you might find it interesting, read it and once you've read it, would you please review???? I love all kinds of feedback, since it feeds the muses.

Chapter one: Another year, another struggle.

Kyra Gardner was back at Hogwarts for her seventh and last year there. Now she was Head Girl. That meant a lot more responsibilities, but Kyra thrived on that. Besides, she would have her own room, which equaled privacy and peace. It was still in the Slytherin Tower, but had its individual entrance.

Smiling, she turned to admire it. It was huge, almost as spacious as the Slytherin dorm rooms and was decorated in green and silver, to match her House colors. The four-poster bed stood in the middle and had night tables on either side. There were a comfy couch, two chairs in front of the fireplace and the rest of the space was taken up by a large armoire, a dresser, a desk and a bookcase, now full of her favorite reading material. What she liked the most about the room was the huge window that occupied half a wall and offered a great view of the lake and the gardens.

Her bathroom was also very roomy. She loved its garden tub, deep enough to hold plenty of water and large enough that she could float in it. It reminded her of the one she had at her L.A. home and that helped her feel less homesick.

Kyra was so close to her parents that leaving them to attend first year at Hogwarts had been the hardest thing she had had to do in her life and now the separation still hurt a bit. Kyra remembered when her first displays of magical powers had started to occur and her parent's support. Everything had turned crystal clear as she received the letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at the age of eleven.

There was no one in her family that had had the slightest relation with magic; that was why the letter had come as a huge surprise. It had been immediately decided that she would go to Hogwarts and learn about her capabilities.

Along with the letter, she had received a short note indicating the address of Genevieve Ingram, a former Hogwarts student who lived in London. Upon Kyra's arrival, Genevieve had taken her to Diagon Alley to get her magical supplies, including a lovely white owl, which Kyra had named Isis. She had also explained her everything about the school and even accompanied her to the train station.

Kyra had boarded Hogwarts Express with all the anxiety she was able to feel, with thousands of dreams, not knowing that an uphill climb was waiting for her. Especially after having been sorted into Slytherin.

As if being the only muggle-born member of Slytherin attending Hogwarts at that time wasn't hard enough, she had become its most brilliant student and for the proud members of Slytherin, being outsmarted by a 'mudblood' was a deadly offense. Now, Kyra had many flaws, she could be selfish, arrogant and short tempered, but being outcasted because of her origins? No, she wasn't going to tolerate that. Every time someone snapped at her, she snapped back ten times more venomously. Needless to say, she didn't have many friends, if any at all, inside her own House.

However, she had found three great friends, who didn't care about the 'impurity' of her blood or about her being American. They were two Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw and Kyra, even though she possessed most of the Slytherin personality traits and considered her House superior to all, wasn't that derisive about the others.

John Andrew Reid had been the first student to talk to her. They had shared a compartment at the Hogwarts Express and by the time of the Sorting Ceremony, they had become good friends. That didn't change after it, even though they had been sorted into different and rival Houses.

He was tall, a bit thin, with soulful gray eyes and ruffled mahogany hair. He was never shy when it came to displaying his feelings and Kyra simply adored him. He had several defects, like his recklessness, but she accepted them as a part of her friend. For six years, she had spent every minute of spare time with him and with her other two friends: Marianne and Hélène. They had become 'the fantastic four', as the Slytherins disdainfully called them.

The first thing Kyra had thought upon seeing Hélène Dupont was that she didn't seem very friendly. They had been standing outside the Great Hall, when she spotted a pretty girl with coffee-brown eyes standing a bit apart from the rest of the crowd. It seemed like she was distant, but Ky wasn't sure, maybe she was just nervous.

With all the excitement, she forgot about her until she saw her at the library after their memorable first Potions class. Professor Snape had asked them to write a paper on the forgetfulness potion and, preconceptions torn apart, they were working together in less than an hour.

She was an entirely different person once you got to know her. Hélène was trustworthy and straightforward, a true Gryffindor and also very fun to be with. Kyra was amazed to find they had a lot in common. Even though she could be pretty judgmental at times, they had the same viewpoints and tastes.

Kyra had met her other best friend, Marianne Bennet, when she had defended her from a prankster Peeves, who was terrorizing the poor girl. She had seemed a bit shy at first, but in time she had proved to be the most caring girl she had ever met and the fact of her being a Ravenclaw didn't matter to Kyra. The entire opposite, she had found her ideal study mate.

Romantic Marianne enjoyed spending her free time reading and writing, her favorite stories where about brave knights in shining armors. Everything about her was soft and gentle, from her long chestnut hair and hazel eyes to the grace of her manners. She wasn't perfect, no, she had a tendency to take things too seriously, but sometimes that was a good thing.

And now… it was their last year together. Kyra sighed at the thought of having to part from them, since she and John had decided to apply for Salem University in the States, while Marianne and Hélène would remain in Europe. They had shared so many things during their time at Hogwarts, enjoying the good moments as a team and remaining like that during the hard ones.

And speaking of hard times, Kyra had to admit the first two years at Hogwarts had been incredibly tough. She missed her country and her parents; but her excellent academic development had helped her earn the good concept of all teachers, while the fact that she earned her House more points than anyone ever had had made her, if not popular, at least respected.

Kyra loved magic, she knew she carried it in her blood and soul. She found her lessons extremely interesting and Potions was on top of all of them. Kyra had always been keen on Chemistry and she had found out that most potions were based on that. Smiling to herself, she made a mental note not to mention that in front of Severus Snape. The man was such an exasperating purist! But she had to admit her Head of the House was equally, if not even more, interesting than the subject he taught.

She had gotten to like all her teachers and even developed a bond with some of them. But Snape… there was something in his dark wizard looks that fascinated her and that sadness he allowed his eyes to show when he thought no one was looking made Kyra crave for getting to know his deepest secrets. And she sensed he had many.

Now, there was nothing in the way in which he had treated her for the last six years that could have softened her heart towards him; he had always been so distant, cold and sarcastic that Kyra had had to suppress the urge to slap him senseless a couple of times. She understood why most students disliked him.

As for Kyra, well, she didn't know what to think of the man. He was an enigma to her. He terrorized his students, often reducing many of the girls to tears. His sarcasm was a formidable weapon for that and no one was left untouched by it.

For her part, Kyra flourished under his teachings. He could be sour and caustic, but he was also undeniably brilliant in his chosen field and she could tell he was pleased by her performance, not that he ever let it show. The exact opposite, he would always challenge her, try to catch her off guard and make her slip; that had never happened and long ago, she had surrendered to the urge to challenge him back. And the look of warning in his eyes had simply encouraged her boldness.

She could tell he hadn't liked that at first, but now it had become like a game. A game which would start on Wednesday, but now she had to focus on the Welcome Feast, since she knew her friends were already waiting for her. Tucking a strand of rebellious hair back in the braid, she ran out of her room.

***

She was back. He had seen her during the Welcome Feast; the black of her robes had seemed to stick out from the crowd. Yes, he had seen her. In fact, she was all he saw; Snape hadn't been able to make his eyes leave the girl's figure. As if she had sensed that, she had lifted her gaze to the Head Table. He had tried to look away, but she must have caught a glimpse of him staring at her because she looked straight into his eyes and smiled. A kind, charming smile.

He bit his lower lip. Snape had to admit he had been smitten by her at that very moment. No one, well, maybe Albus, had ever showed kindness towards him without having a deeper reason to. And this was the first time he had noticed how beautiful she really was. Or maybe he had never allowed himself to notice that before.

Sighing, he recalled the way she looked. Her braided hair was raven black and some strands had broken loose form it, caressing a tanned skin as smooth as the finest porcelain. Her facial structure revealed delicate cheekbones and a straight, elegant nose. One could tell, even now, that those features would become more refined with age. Her eyes were her most arresting attributes: a deep blue beneath expressive black brows.

But she had never given the impression of being narcissistic, even though he had found out that her family had more muggle money than could be spent in hundreds of years and had never lacked of male company for any Ball.

Truth was, he had always admired her inquisitive mind, her sharp intellect and her thirst for knowledge, even though she seemed to possess lots of it. He also liked it when she allowed her dark side and evil temper to show, like the time in which Draco Malfoy's chair had suspiciously disappeared at the very moment he was about to sit after he had given her a hard shove (the fact that the boy was 5 years younger than her didn't seem to matter) or when another Slytherin's potion had 'accidentally' exploded, bathing the boy in green ooze, after he had called her 'mudblood'. And, even though he hadn't like it at the beginning, he had grown very fond of the little game they played during his classes.

Since she was always the first one to finish any assigned task, he would try to slow her down by asking her the most difficult questions he could think about while she was working. She would always answer impeccably and, much to his surprise the first times, she would then ask him to elaborate some more on the topic. It had come to a point in which he had to consult several books before dictating his class in case she asked for something very specific and he ended up looking like a fool for not knowing how to reply.

Severus Snape didn't have all the answers, but he would be damned if he ever admitted that.

After that dinner, he had seen her a couple more times in the corridors, but she had been too engulfed by her friend's company as to notice his presence. And now it was Wednesday, time for his Double Potions class with Gryffindor and Slytherin. She would be there…

Startling himself, he slammed his fist on the countertop cursing.

' Damn her, and damn myself.' Rubbing his forehead and clenching his fist he decided then and there that he would stay away from her. ' The last thing she needs is being stalked by someone like me.'

***

There'll be plenty of interaction between Sev and Ky in the next chapter, I swear! If you would like to be notified when I post it, as well as the next chapters, let me know and I'll be happy to send you an email.

Thanks for reading!

Now, to my Forgive or Forget reviewers, first of all, I'd like to thank you a lot for taking the time to drop me a comment.

Linda, my first reviewer! I'm really glad you liked it and I hope you enjoy its prequel.

Kelest, sorry for the cliffie! But I'll make it up for it, cross my heart and hope to die!

Misty, many thanx for your kind words!

Drachenaugen, my Sevvie is sweet, what can I say? But I hope you'll understand him a bit more once you've read this story.